Things are beginning to look up for Camden Gullie.

After a string of races in which he was plagued by mechanical issues and bad luck, Gullie rebounded to post sixth-place finishes in twin races in South Boston Speedway’s most recent event on May 13. That serves as a hopeful sign that Gullie is on the cusp of seeing his fortunes turn around on a positive note.

“Overall, we’re making progress,” Gullie pointed out. “I don’t think it’s showing right now because of the bad luck we’ve been having. We’ve had some bad luck with the front crankshaft seal coming out. That, and some things just have not gone our way.”

The early portion of the 2023 season has not been particularly kind to the young Durham, North Carolina resident. Gullie has posted one Top-5 finish and six Top-10 finishes in his eight starts in the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division at South Boston Speedway. He sits in fifth place in the division point standings entering the twin-75 lap Late Model races that will highlight the Bojangles Night Race event on Saturday night, June 3 at South Boston Speedway.

While he is behind in his marks from the two previous seasons, Gullie remains optimistic and continues to have high hopes for a successful season.

“It’s all about getting into a rhythm,” Gullie said. “This track changes a lot. It’s different every time we come here. Success is about hitting the nail on the head and finding the right (chassis) setup for that particular night. We’re just trying to find that right amount of stability all around. It comes down to a little bit of luck and skill.”

Gullie says it is tough to win races at South Boston Speedway because the best Late Model drivers in the business compete at South Boston Speedway each week.

“To win here says a lot about you and your team,” Gullie remarked. “It takes a lot to win here. You’ve just got to keep digging at it week-in and week-out and try to find something most competitors can’t find and try to be a little quicker than them.

“Personally, I love racing against the best competition,” he added. “You want to race against the best competition so that you can challenge yourself and make yourself a better driver. You don’t want to go race at a track where there is no one there so that you win. You don’t get better doing that.”

Warmer temperatures are predicted for this coming weekend and the approaching summer could mean good things for Gullie and his team. Over the course of the past two seasons, the majority of Gullie’s better finishes have come during the hot summer months.

“Last year the warmer weather did help us,” Gullie said. “Early in the year we ran fourth, fifth or sixth, and later in the season we started running a little better. Maybe that will happen again this year.”

This season is Gullie’s third straight season of racing in the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division. His goal for this season is to win at least one race and finish in the top three in the final point standings.

“I really want to win a race up here,” Gullie remarked. “I haven’t won a Late Model race yet so to get our first win here would be huge. I’d love to win the championship here at South Boston. Peyton Sellers is kind of the top dog here so it’s hard. It’s going to take a lot to take the championship away from him. To come away with another Top-3 in points this season would be good for us.”

South Boston Speedway’s division championship battles will resume in the June 3 Bojangles Night Race. Six-time South Boston Speedway Champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia and Carter Langley of Zebulon, North Carolina are separated by only one point entering this weekend’s twin 75-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races. Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina sits in third place, 20 points behind Sellers.

Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia leads Carter Russo of Rougemont, North Carolina and Ronnie Jones of Kenly, North Carolina by 13 points in Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division. The remaining two drivers in the top five are within 20 points of the leader.

Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia holds a narrow two-point lead over Zach Reaves of Danville, Virginia in the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division point standings. Only 18 points separate the sixth-place driver in the standings from the division leader.

In the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division, Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia leads Steven Layne of Halifax, Virginia by a slim three-point margin. Only 17 points stand between Davis and the seventh-place driver in the standings.

The Saturday, June 3 Bojangles Night Race event at South Boston Speedway includes six races with twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division as the feature races.

A 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, twin 15-lap races for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division, and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division will round out the night’s racing action.

Registration and pit gates will open at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 3:20 p.m. and practice will start at 3:30 p.m. Backstretch spectator and tailgate section gates will open at 5:30 P.M. Qualifying starts at 6 p.m. and the first race will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

Advance adult general admission tickets for the Saturday, June 3 Bojangles Night Race event are priced at $12 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, or by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.

Tickets at the gate on race day will be $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate on race day.

Fans and competitors can find the latest news and updates from South Boston Speedway on the speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, on the track’s social media channels, and by phoning the speedway at 1-434-572-4947 or toll free 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.

SBS PR

Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Charlotte: Chris Buescher won stage two and was in prime position for the finish before getting hit on pit road Sunday in the Coke 600. He ultimately came back from that to finish eighth for his sixth top-10 of 2023. Keselowski endured similar unfortunate luck on a couple of different occasions, ultimately finishing 19^th after a promising start.

Points Standings (6: 9^th, 17: 12^th): Keselowski remains ninth in points entering the weekend in Illinois as positions 8-11 are separated by 23 points. Buescher jumped up a spot and is 12^th with 20 points surrounding drivers 11-14.

RFK PR

FRM PR

Do you enjoy racing at World Wide Technology Raceway? “Gateway is a track that I’ve had success at and run well at, so I’m excited to go back there. I don’t know what it is about that track -- I just really like the feel of it and how you have to race it from a driver’s standpoint. It’s a really neat race track with having two different corners and both ends of the race track being completely opposite. I like to think Turns 1 and 2 race like a short track and we are shifting down there, then Turns 3 and 4 race like a traditional mile race track, like a Loudon. Aero is really important and makes it hard to pass. You need to qualify well and do everything you can to keep your track position. I’m excited to go there in a KBM truck and see what we can do.”   Is it important to end this five-week stretch of races with a strong run headed into two weeks off? “We are coming to the end of a five-week stretch where there have been some bumps in the road, but it is crucial to end on a high note. You want to have some momentum going into a couple weeks off and then be ready to make a push to get into the playoffs in the final four weeks of the regular season. We just need to execute and have a good day on Saturday.”   How do you prepare for the heat that you’ll experience this weekend? “It’s going to be 95 degrees and hot on Saturday. This place is notorious for that, during the summer it feels like it’s one of the hottest places on Earth. You need to hydrate during the week, work out and eat healthy. We do a lot of cardio and some heat training as well. Nothing that we are not used to, but it’s definitely going to be more demanding from a physical standpoint inside the truck.”

KBM-60: The No. 4 Bama Buggies team will unload KBM-60 for Saturday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway. KBM-60 will be making its first start in 2023. It was last driven by John Hunter Nemechek to a 10th-place finish at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park last July. This chassis has recorded two career wins. Kyle Busch won with KBM-60 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2020 and Brandon Jones won with it at Pocono Raceway in 2020.   KBM-60 Performance Profile:

KBM PR

This will be your first Truck Series race at a track less than 1.5 miles this year. Are you looking forward to it? “The 51 team had a lot of speed at Gateway last year and I think our sim time leading up to this week went really well, so I feel like it will be a good race for us. We just have to put together a whole race. We have had great qualifying speed and race speed in the trucks, our pit crew has done a really great job all year, but I just have to do a little better job of putting the races together.”   What does it take to be successful at World Wide Technology Raceway? “I think you have to be ok with your truck being a little bit on the edge. I think track position is a huge thing there because it is really tough to make up ground once you lose it. Qualifying is going to be important, and the restarts are going to be especially important this week. You have to take care of your truck because you are going to be using up the transmission and using up the brakes. The biggest thing is that you have to stay mentally focused all day and do your job -- especially with how hot it is going to be Saturday. I work hard to be in shape and hopefully with it being a little hotter this weekend that will come into play a little bit.”

KBM-66: The No. 51 Logitech team will unload KBM-66 for Saturday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway. Wood has earned a pair of top-10 finishes in two starts with this Silverado this year, earning a career-best ninth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway and a 10th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This chassis has been victorious twice in its career, both at Atlanta, winning with Corey Heim last year and with KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch in 2021.    Click Here for KBM-66 Profile

KBM PR

Carson Hocevar will pilot Spire Motorsports No. 7 Schluter®-Systems Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
 
Hendrick Motorsports announced earlier today Corey LaJoie will fill in for Chase Elliott this weekend behind the wheel of Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet.
 
“We’re always happy to help our friends at Hendrick Motorsports and couldn’t be prouder to see Corey LaJoie get the opportunity of a lifetime to race a Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolet,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “When we were approached by HMS, it was really an easy answer. Our entire organization and the whole team at Schluter Systems are on board and thrilled to see Corey realize an incredible opportunity. At the same time, we’re eager to see Carson Hocevar get behind the wheel of the No. 7 Schluter Systems Chevy Camaro. Carson has proven to be more than capable and he’s done a great job in our No. 77 Premier Security Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. This is a win for everyone involved.”   
 
The Enjoy Illinois 300 from World Wide Technology Raceway will be televised live on FS1 Sunday, June 4 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 15th of 36 races on the 2023 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Spire Motorsports PR

We understand NASCAR’s need to maintain consistency in its officiating. The penalty will not be appealed, and we will submit a formal request for a playoff waiver.

Corey LaJoie, 31, will drive the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway. We are grateful to Corey for stepping in and to the team at Spire Motorsports for making him available.

Hendrick Motorsports Pr

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel today heard and considered an appeal of a safety penalty issued on May 18, 2023 to crew chiefs Timothy Sliva and Daniel Killius and owners Timothy Viens and William Shea in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

The penalty concerns the following sections of the 2023 NASCAR Rule Book: Section 14.2.3.3.1.B.C Driver’s Window Net. The penalties issued were the loss of 25 championship owner points and a $5,000 fine to the crew chief.

Upon hearing the testimony, the decisions of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are:

1. That the Appellant violated the Rule(s) set forth in the Penalty Notice.
2. That the Panel affirms and upholds the original Penalty assessed by NASCAR.

In reaching the above decision, the panel provided the following explanation: “Whether the race team knew or did not know the window nets were illegal, according to the NASCAR rule book, each race team is responsible for ensuring that their equipment is both legal and safe.”

The Appeals Panel members for this hearing:

• Mr. Dale Pinilis
• Ms. Shawna Robinson
• Mr. Kevin Whitaker

NASCAR PR

A two day delay didn’t get any better for Parker Kligerman and the Spiked Coolers No. 48 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The race was supposed to run Saturday and was moved to Monday morning. After the green flag flew at 11:10 am, it was paused due to more rain and the Coca-Cola 600, until it restarted at 9:45 pm.

The team qualified P20 and was moving up, when fuel pressure issues sent Parker to the garage on lap 97. The crew scrambled and got back in the race with 40 laps to go.

Justin Allgaier picked up his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the year, ahead of John Hunter Nemecheck.

The team heads across the country to Portland, Oregon this week for the Pacific Office Automation 147 on Saturday at 1:30 pm pacific, 4:30 pm eastern. TV coverage is on FS1, hear the radio broadcast on SiriusXM Channel 90 and MRN affiliates nationwide.

BMR PR